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As WP's senior editor, I edit review and preview articles, attempt to keep up with the frantic pace of Rainier's news posts, and keep our reviewers on deadline, which is akin to herding cats. When I have a moment to myself and don't have my nose in a book, I like to play action/RPG, adventure and platforming games.

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'Playboy: the Mansion' (PS2/Xbox/PC) - Screens

In 'Playboy: the Mansion' you step into the virtual slippers of world-famous Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner, building Playboy Magazine and the Playboy Mansion into dynamic cultural icons. Gamers also will live the lifestyle, rubbing elbows with stunning women and popular celebrities, and share the mystique of the Mansion by hosting extravagant, exciting parties.

Currently under development at Cyberlore Studios, Playboy: The MansionTM is a unique gaming experience that seamlessly combines intriguing social interaction, party-throwing simulation and empire- building challenges.

"This is a dream project for a development studio," said Joe Minton, CEO of Cyberlore Studios. "We're putting all eleven years of our experience and expertise into making this an outstanding game."

The player steps into the virtual slippers of world-famous Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner, building Playboy Magazine and the Playboy Mansion into dynamic cultural icons. Gamers also will live the lifestyle, rubbing elbows with stunning women and popular celebrities, and share the mystique of the Mansion by hosting extravagant, exciting parties. Crafty management of the Mansion's social scene will be required to keep the business end of things thriving. Scoring hot celebrity interviews and arranging sexy photo shoots are just some of the tasks that players will encounter in growing the empire. The innovative Photoshoot gameplay will allow the player to take control of the camera, shoot models for magazine covers and pick and choose the best overall theme for each issue in order to maintain the excellence that the buying public demands.

"We're very excited to be working with Microsoft on Playboy: The MansionTM," said Jon Walsh, president and CEO of Groove Games. "With its broad target audience of both novice and expert gamers, the Xbox is the perfect vehicle to bring the game to consumers. Xbox enthusiasts are going to have a great time with this game."

Rendered in a fully 3D environment with actual Playboy estate areas such as the Game House and the world-famous Playboy Grotto, the game portrays an accurate, virtually livable version of the actual Playboy Mansion. Gamers will be able to create their own versions of the Mansion as they step into the role of the Playboy mogul, hosting lavish parties designed to be the envy of Hollywood. With Campaign and Empire modes, players can either follow an intriguing and involved storyline, or be set loose to explore and create on their own.

The release of Playboy: The MansionTM marks Playboy's entry into the video game category and underlines the growth of Playboy's licensing business in the entertainment arena. In addition to game industry advertising and merchandising initiatives, ARUSH and Groove will aggressively market the game in Playboy magazine and on Playboy.com to support the launch. Playboy readers spent over $300 million on video games over the last year with more than 3.1 million readers owning a video game system.